So you have finally recognized you are suffering from mental illness and need help? Congratulations! You have already taken your first step to recovery. All you need now is to find a psychologist who would help you find a solution and stay consistent.
Not sure, how to find a psychologist? Well, recognizing and accepting the fact you need help is difficult. Finding and choosing the right psychologist is not that hard. Since you are not sure how to find one, here is the step-by-step guide that would help you not only in finding but choosing the right one as well;
- Search options online and take referrals
- Shortlist the most reliable options
- Inspect psychologist’s credentials and experience
- Consider gender
- Review patient satisfaction surveys
- Book an appointment to judge further
- Select and start begin your journey
Search options online and take referrals
As you have just recognized your issues and started planning to take help, you should begin by searching for options. While searching for options, you have to consider a specialty. There are two ways to have a pool of options; search online and take referrals. So, start by searching “psychologists near me”, asking your friends, family, and acquaintances for referrals, and writing all the promising options down.
Shortlist the most reliable options
Now that you have a pool of options to choose from, it’s time to shortlist the few most worthy options. Remember! Choosing a psychologist is different from selecting a general doctor. You have to take all the options equally seriously, not just the referrals. Each psychologist works differently, what worked for your friend or acquaintance may not go well for you. So, you have to judge all the options well and shortlist the ones you find most suitable for your personality.
Inspect psychologist’s credentials and experience
Once you have shortlisted the options, take no time in inspecting the credentials and experience. It would tell you a lot about the psychologist, more specifically, whether he/she has the necessary qualification, training, and skill to help you out. Go to healthgrades.com and search for the shortlisted options. You would know all about the psychologist there from medical school, training hospital, certifications, and malpractice and disciplinary history.
Consider gender
It’s important to consider gender as well. You should choose who can easily open up to. If you are more comfortable opening up to the same gender, choose a psychologist who has the same gender. If gender does not matter, do not waste time considering gender.
Review patient satisfaction surveys
The best way to investigate and find out whether the psychologist is worthy of your time and effort is by reviewing the patient satisfaction survey. It’s the easiest way to know what people think about your shortlisted options and how these psychologists use their knowledge and skills in helping people out. By the end of reading all the patient satisfaction surveys, you would be pretty sure who to consider.
Book an appointment and begin your journey
Once satisfied, take no time in beginning your journey. Begin by booking your first appointment. Open up, be willing to accept, change, and adapt.